According to the taxpayers’ association, property tax in Germany will continue to rise from 2025. This would be supported by observations.
It’s getting expensive for homeowners
“The taxpayers’ association expects property taxes to rise for house and apartment owners from 2025 onwards. “Observations and feedback show that in many cases – especially in private real estate – the property tax values are increasing compared to the previous values,” said Reiner Holznagel, President of the Association of Taxpayers Germany, the “Welt am Sonntag”.
In connection with the real estate tax reform, property owners have submitted a tax return in recent months and are currently receiving notifications from the tax office in which new assessed values for the properties are determined. Due to increased real estate prices, these are often higher than before, according to the taxpayers’ association. “The tax base amounts, which are the basis for calculating the property tax, are also increasing accordingly,” says Holznagel. From January 1, 2025, a new property tax will be levied – in most federal states according to the so-called federal model, in others according to their own models, which are more based on area sizes or land values. The new amount to be paid results from the newly determined property tax values, a tax index and the municipal assessment rate.
The taxpayers’ association does not assume that the municipalities will lower their assessment rates to compensate for increased real estate prices, although the legislature had promised “revenue neutrality”: “The municipalities are struggling with increasing expenditure on energy or accommodation,” says Holznagel. It is difficult to understand “whether the property tax – without taking into account the increased costs – will be collected revenue-neutral from 2025. Without a corresponding adjustment of the assessment rates in the municipalities, the property tax will be higher in the future.”
Report with material from the dts news agency
Photo: property tax notice, via dts news agency